Military Activist Goes After Army Officer for Faith-Themed Blog Post: ‘Can’t Figure Out Whether He’s an…Officer or an Evangelical Christian Missionary’

A military fitness expert is under fire over a blog post that he penned earlier this month suggesting that his fellow members of the armed forces can improve their “spiritual fitness through increased prayer.”

The Jan. 4 blog post by Col. Thomas Hundley, titled, “Monday Motivational Message: A Little Something to Work With,” also included a personal anecdote about a recent conversation with his grandfather that included some biblical advice.

But, since it was published on the Defense Health Agency website, which is owned and run by the government, Mikey Weinstein, president of activist group the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, filed a complaint with the Army Regional Health Command in Virginia, taking aim at the blog post’s inclusion of Christian themes, according to Military.com.

Screen shot of the blog post in question

“Apparently, Col. Thomas Hundley can’t figure out whether he’s an active duty senior Army officer or an evangelical Christian missionary,” Weinstein said. “Col. Hundley has absolutely no business or authority under American law to be conflating his Army officer rank, title and position with his professed evangelical Christian faith.”

A brief read of the blog post does include mentions of God, prayer and the Bible, though it is unclear how the military will respond to Weinstein’s claim that these themes are inappropriate and essentially unlawful.

“As we sat at the kitchen table, [my grandfather] gave me just the nugget I needed to apply to my health and fitness,” Hundley wrote. “He said, ‘You don’t need a whole lot to make it in this world. You just gotta give God a little something to work with. The Bible says that Jesus took two little fish and five loaves of bread and fed thousands. You know how He did that? He just gave God a little something to work with.'”

It was that story that offered Hundley some personal motivation, with the fitness expert noting that the Department of Defense’s January health theme is “A New Year, a New You.”

That in mind, he said that he hoped his grandfather’s words would help “kick start” his readers’ fitness journeys as well.

A screen shot from Hundley’s website

“During my grandfather’s story he said, ‘A person can’t pray for a new job and expect to get it when they haven’t even filled out an application. You have to give God a little something to work with,'” he continued. “I challenge you to join the Operation Live Well team on the journey to attain a ‘new you’ in 2016. All we have to do is give God and ourselves a little something to work with. Happy New Year!”

Then, he offered up some challenges, including increased prayer that he said would help improve spiritual fitness.

Hundley is the author of a book and workout DVD titled, “Fit for the King,” which is on sale on his official website. A call to Hundley for comment has not yet been returned to TheBlaze.

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